Hope Amongst Despair
by usnoozulose
Summary: 50 years have passed since E.N.D. was awoken. Alice, an orphaned celestial mage, lives in one of the few safe areas left in Earthland. What happens when she finds a celestial key which shouldn't exist? And what is its connection to E.N.D.?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Warning: major spoiler alert! I wouldn't recommend reading this if you're not caught up with the manga.  
Anyway, enjoy the story, and let me know if I should write up original character profiles to explain the characters better.**

* * *

PROLOGUE

Natsu stared down at her.  
The girl he'd taken to join his guild.  
The girl who'd followed him around at first, before he actively started asking her to join him on missions.  
The girl who he'd been through nearly everything with since he met her.  
The girl who made him stronger.  
The girl whose future he promised to protect.

The girl he _loved._

Dead, at the hands of his own brother.  
And this time, it was _his_ Lucy. There was no other Lucy from the past or present to live on for her.

With every one of his own heartbeats, the same words echoed in his head:  
 _She's never coming back._

He felt himself falling into darkness, and he didn't bother stopping it. There was no point now. If Zeref wanted to die, he'd grant his wish.

He would gladly say goodbye to the last part of him that was Natsu, the fire dragon slayer, just to escape this pain.

 _When you lose someone you love, you lose yourself as well._

* * *

CHAPTER 1

"Alice, would you kindly answer my question?"

My eyes left the two squirrels chasing each other outside to land on my batty tutor. She had that sly gleam in her eyes; she full well knew I hadn't been listening to a word she said. The old woman just wanted to watch me squirm.

"Silence is my answer. I didn't believe your question deserved a verbal reply." I improvised swiftly. Knowing this old woman, she'd either think I was being profound and intelligent, or she would catch on and know I was bullshitting.  
Either way, she would smile. The only reason she'd pulled me off the streets is because my wit entertained her.

Needless to say, I saw the corners of her mouth pull up.  
"So by your silence I'm assuming you haven't bought your history textbooks today?" The teacher played along, rolling her eyes tiredly.  
The two scruffy-looking boys either side of me snickered to themselves; they always found it hilarious when the teacher called me out.

"No, my silence is outrage that you thought I'd forget something so important." I lied effortlessly, bringing out the required books.

Of course, if I'd forgotten the books, I could have just quickly run back to the old bat's house to retrieve them. But nooo, those twenty minutes of education I'd miss were just too important.

Okay, that was unfair. I was one of the few lucky ones to have an education, even if it was just an hour a day every day in this dusty shack with two other delinquents. Come to think of it, I'd never even seen a proper school; they must've all been destroyed 50 years ago.

I just wanted to go out and explore the world. I wanted to see all those things I'd read about in the history text books. Granted, the rest of the world was probably as desolate as here in Magnolia, but I just felt… trapped.  
There was safety in numbers here. If I left alone, I'd probably die.

But this place was suffocating me.

It hurt to know just how great the world was before the demon E.N.D. was awoken.

"Well I'm sorry for wounding your honour." The teacher replied sarcastically, before a sincere expression overtook her face; the one she uses when she goes into education mode.

"I've taught you a lot about the time before the crisis 50 years ago." She started. I agreed; she was a young adult back then, in a wizard guild no less. She had the best stories of what she and her friends had accomplished; those stories were the reason I showed up to class every day.

"But I feel it necessary to tell you how the demon E.N.D. came to be, from a first-hand perspective." She continued, a steely look of resolve in her eyes.

I gawked at her, barely noticing the gasps of the other students.  
She said she had a first-hand perspective. Did that mean…?

"I apologise for not mentioning it before. But yes, I was there 50 years ago. I witnessed it. I witnessed E.N.D.-" she abruptly stopped talking; I could see her resolve breaking as other things such as pain and grief flashed across her face.

I stayed silent, seeing my tutor and mother figure in a completely new light. I'd known her for years, and always assumed she'd been elsewhere when E.N.D. started destroying Earthland. I reckoned that maybe she'd read about it in the news, and fled to a safe area; that was the story most people told.

But she'd seen it all go down. Hell, knowing she'd been in a wizard guild, she probably would've tried to fight the demon as well.  
How could she possibly live through something like that? How could she smile after something like that happening before her eyes?  
She was strong. So much stronger than she let on.

"It says here that everyone present for E.N.D.'s revival died." Dylan inquired from beside me, pointing at his open textbook, shock evident in his dark brown eyes. I internally facepalmed at his lack of tact.

The teacher stared down at the book and I knew from the way she trembled that she was seconds away from breaking down. I could see her struggling to stay composed.  
I felt my eyes becoming watery when I realised what this meant. Did none of the people she mentioned in her stories survive that day?

"What, are you calling her a liar, asshole?" Quentin barked from the other side of me, effectively cutting through the tense atmosphere.  
"No, you completely missed the point, numbskull!" Dylan growled back at his rival, his blonde hair turning bright red as he lost control over his colour magic.

"Yeah well you're missing your brain, chameleon!" I could see amusement in Quentin's black eyes as he taunted his fellow student.  
"Who're you calling chameleon, you damn hippy!" the two boys were head to head now, creating a human bridge over me.

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the teacher; to my surprise she no longer trembled. The sadness was still in her eyes, however she had adopted a small smile as she watched the two idiots fight.  
She seemed to find it fascinating and entertaining when the two of them fought for whatever reason, whereas it just irritated the fuck out of other people.  
I was one of those people.

"Knock it off! _Some_ people actually want to learn here." I whined, pouting.  
The two boys glanced down at me, before glaring at each other once more and reluctantly sitting back down. It usually took a lot more than that to stop them from fighting, but I had made a very valid point. We all wanted to hear what our teacher had to say.

She cleared her throat as we all waited anxiously.  
"Thank you, Alice. But I'm afraid that my story will have to wait until tomorrow. Until then, I want you guys to find sources and write a report on what happened that day. Then we will compare it to my account, and you will learn that these text books-" she picked up Dylan's open book, looking at it with disappointment, "these poor excuses for text books can be grossly inaccurate sometimes."

I could tell she needed more time before going into the story of what happened. If she hadn't even mentioned it in all the years she'd been looking after me, then it was definitely something she would struggle to talk about.

"Well, I'm guessing class is dismissing early today." I said, giving the two boys looks to let them know they should scram.  
They thankfully got the message and started packing up their books, saying a brief thank you to the teacher before leaving. She seemed too lost in thought to register them.

I waited until the sounds of yet another pointless argument became faint before standing up to hug the strict, but kind woman who had taken me in all those years ago.

"I had no idea, Levy." I whispered as she stayed still in my arms.

 _My parents had just died from a disease which wiped out a quarter of the town. Our inability to go beyond Magnolia resulted in a shortage of medicines, resulting in many deaths._

 _So when I, an 8 year old celestial mage with barely enough magic power to summon a silver key, found myself completely alone in the world, all I could do was wander.  
I explored the darkest corners of Magnolia, eating out of bins and avoiding wondering what I would do when I'd finished exploring. It was all I knew how to do at the time._

 _When I felt lonely, I'd call out my Canis minor spirit named Pablo. When I needed to sleep, I'd call out Lyra to sing me a song. My two silver keys would have been enough company if my magic capacity had been enough to keep them out all the time.  
But it wasn't. _

_One day, when exploring the deserted heart of Magnolia, I came across some old ruins. The thing about these ruins that really stood out to me, though; I got the feeling that this building was targeted specifically. While the surrounding houses were simply demolished, this entire area had been literally burned to the ground._

 _There were scorch marks all over the place which looked deliberate; it contrasted with the random chaos everywhere else.  
the remainder of a rotting flag still stood almost proudly on a pole next to the ruins; I could just about make out a weird bird-like shape on it._

 _And right in the centre of the ruins, I saw a flash of gold.  
Thinking it was money, I rushed up to it, only to stop abruptly when I saw what it really was._

 _I picked it up delicately, not disappointed in the slightest that it wasn't money. My fingers shook in excitement as I took in every detail of the object, recalling what I'd learnt in that old astrology book I used to have._

 _It was Aquarius's key. There was no doubt in my mind that I was holding one of the only 12 golden celestial keys in existence.  
I mean, yeah, there were questions. Like, why on earth was it here, in these ruins? Was it fate that I, a rare celestial mage, had found it, or was it simply a coincidence?  
And then there was the big question; according to my astrology book, this key had been missing for over 40 years, since before E.N.D. awoke. Had it been here this whole time?_

 _But alas, I was young. My excitement outweighed my confusion._

 _"Open, gate of Aquarius!" I called, waving the key in the air.  
Everything went black._

 _When I came to, it was cold and dark outside. I realised with a start that I had fainted.  
Stupid Alice. I should've known I didn't have enough magical power to summon a gold key yet!  
I let out a few tears, frustrated at the fact that a new friend was only a call away, but I just wasn't strong enough to do it. _

_I ended up summoning Pablo for company, petting him as he trembled and let out soft "pun-pun" noises to console me.  
I don't know how long I stayed there, sulking on the scorched ruins before she turned up._

 _"Plue?"  
I looked up to see a woman staring disbelievingly at my spirit; her wild blue hair streaked with grey was whipping across her face in the harsh wind. _

_"His name's Pablo." I said, frowning at the strange woman.  
Her line of sight slowly drifted towards me, and I couldn't help but feel confused at the slight flash of disappointment I saw in her expression. _

_"He's… a spirit of yours?" she asked eventually, gradually becoming more composed.  
"No, he's a bug." I deadpanned sarcastically, holding up the key I'd used to summon him._

 _She smiled at that._

 _Once she heard of my situation, she simply held out her hand, allowing me to make a choice whether I wanted her help or not.  
And I did. I craved human interaction. I missed having someone caring about me. _

_And as much as I loved exploring, I wanted to leave the rest of Magnolia alone so that I could discover it and all its dark corners later._

 _So I took her hand._

Since then, the old bat with a deep sadness behind her composed expression has been like a mother to me. She was strict and overprotective and overbearing, but she loved me as a daughter. She introduced me to Dylan and Quentin, my two best friends, and she was supportive of my magic, even though she couldn't really help me with it.

I wondered just what Levy had gone through all those years ago.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope it's immediately obvious why Levy chose to teach those three in particular. I haven't really decided a specific age for them, but I'd say they would be around 15-17 years old.**

 **Also, I don't want to reveal too much, but there will be Fairy Tail characters other than Levy in this, rest assured.**

 **So yeah, I've been thinking about writing this for a while now. Reviews and constructive criticism would be really appreciated!**

 **I'll hopefully be updating my other story "forbidden magic" tomorrow by the way**

 **-usnoozulose**


	2. Chapter 2

With a sigh, I massaged my wrist as I sat back to review what I'd written so far on the demon named E.N.D.:

 _The year was X792, and it was the day of the dragon king festival . This festival had been prophesised as the day the black wizard, the black dragon and the humans were to fight to the death.  
After defeating the black dragon, Acnologia, The black wizard known as Zeref released his most powerful demon, E.N.D. in order to commit a mass annihilation. _

_However, it seems that Zeref could not control his own demon. After E.N.D. made its first move by killing a celestial mage of the guild, 'Fairy Tail', it then continued to attack its creator, leaving Zeref dead.  
However, even after his death, Zeref still committed to his promised mass annihilation of humans. His last and most powerful creation went on to destroy everything in its path, killing everyone present. _

_E.N.D. has since been known to travel Earthland, leaving no area undamaged in its wake. However, survivors have been able to pinpoint the few areas where the demon has not returned to. These have since been turned into safe places, and travel is limited between them.  
Magnolia, Haregon and Mt. Hakobe are three well-known examples._

I'd added that last paragraph because my report just didn't seem long enough at all. Who knew there would be so little information on the events that started this whole crisis?  
And they didn't really make sense either. I think even without Levy mentioning the text book wasn't accurate, I would have been sceptical.

Like why, out of all people, would the demon go for the lone celestial mage first? I mean, as useful as celestial magic could be in some cases, it really wouldn't be the sort of thing you'd fight a demon with.

I sighed and glanced at the pictures on the page. A crudely drawn representation of E.N.D. sent shivers down my spine, so I moved on to examine the next picture.  
It was simple – just a bird-shaped symbol with the caption: _Fairy Tail guild mark. It is believed that every guild member lost their life in the battle against E.N.D.._

I stared at the picture. It seemed strangely familiar. Frowning, I dug through my memories, reaching into the darkest corners to try to remember where I'd seen that mark before.

Aquarius' key.  
It was on that flag… next to the ruins where I found the key.

My brain started making connections faster than it ever had before. Those ruins must have been the Fairy Tail guild. That celestial mage that died that day – they were in that guild.  
I'd found one of their keys. That had to be it.

And maybe, just maybe, that spirit would know what went down that day? After all, Levy had asked us to look at several sources…

Maybe it was about time I tried calling out Aquarius again. Perhaps this time I would have enough magic?

I'd tried everything to summon her after the day I found her key. I've tried calling out my two silver spirits for as long as possible to train my magic, but all to no avail. I've tried multiple incantations, only to fail miserably.  
I'm ashamed to say that without another celestial mage to tell me what I was doing wrong, I gave up after a year or two of trying. I was too embarrassed to even tell Levy about it.

 _Maybe you should summon her from a water source. Isn't she the water bearer spirit?_

A voice at the back of my head stunned me with its simplicity.

Almost robotically, I reached into my chest of drawers where I hid my most priceless possession. My hands automatically spun the tap, releasing water into the small sink in my room.

"Open, gate of the water bearer, Aquarius." I whispered, putting the gold key into the water.

When I saw a flash of gold and felt my magic deplete only a manageable amount, I released the tears I'd wanted to shed since I was that lonely 8 year old with nothing to my name.  
This was it. I'd done it. After all these years-

"Mavis, getting summoned out of a sink is so uncomfortable! No wonder she always yelled at me."

I gawked at the spirit who had just interrupted my thoughts with her loud outburst.  
She was… beautiful. I was expecting her colour scheme to be blue like water, and so I was surprised by her long blonde hair and pink mermaid tail. Her eyes had looked golden when the celestial magic was surrounding her, but by the light in my room I now saw they were chocolate brown.

"So you finally figured out how to summon me correctly, eh? Took you long enough." The spirit smiled at me, not at all sounding annoyed despite what she was saying.

"Is this your first time summoning a spirit?" she asked, raising her eyebrows when I just continued to stare at her.

Oh, right. The contract. She's a celestial spirit who I have to make a contract with. Okay. Speak, Alice. Stop opening and closing your mouth like a fish. Just tell her you want to make a contract with her.

"Who always yelled at you?" I heard myself asking.  
God dammit, wrong question, Alice!

Aquarius's eyes widened in surprise.  
"That's not important. How about you start off by telling me your name?" she rushed, brushing off my question effortlessly.

"Alice." I almost rejoiced when I managed to answer her question correctly. I wasn't used to making this bad of a first impression; the excitement of summoning the long lost spirit just made my brain go all dumb.

"Hello Alice, I'm Aquarius, the water bearer. I'm available any time you need me, and as you've probably guessed, my power is water control. I would be very happy to make a contract with you, even if your attention span appears to be minimal." She emitted a formal aura of friendliness up until when she smirked whilst saying that last part.

"Hey! It's not my fault you surprised me by being the only spirit who's fussy and needs special conditions to be summoned." I retorted.

"Whaaat? A minute ago you were staring at me like I was some sort of princess, and now you're having a go at me?" she asked incredulously, adopting a comically surprised expression.

And with that, I just laughed. I felt like I was talking to someone my age. I felt like I was talking to a _friend._  
Wiping away my tears, I smiled at her.  
"I'd love to make a contract with you, Aquarius. You have no idea how much this means to me-"

"It means a lot to me, too. I'm glad to have you as my master." She interrupted me from my overly emotional gushing, thankfully.  
Her wording, however, made me cringe.

"Lyra just calls me Alice, so you can call me that too. I'm not too sure about the whole master-spirit relationship." I shrugged.  
The way she beamed at me, you'd think I just saved her first-born from a burning building.

"Friends, then." She said, holding her hand out for me to shake.  
And with that, our contract was sealed. I now had a contract with one of the strongest members of the zodiac…

"So if that's all, I'll take my leave now-"  
"wait! I wanted to ask you a few questions for a paper I'm writing!" I called out, relieved when she didn't disappear off into the spirit world.

"Oh good! I happen to be excellent with grammar." She announced confidently.  
"It's more to do with history, actually." I told her, noticing her smile drop slightly. Nevertheless, I decided to ask the questions. "Can you tell me what happened when E.N.D. was released 50 years ago?"

Confusion took over her face.  
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"But you were there 50 years ago, right? It says here that E.N.D. killed your old master-" I stopped talking abruptly upon realising what I'd just said. I held my breath. Why the hell did I just blurt that out? She was bound to be scarred by that day if her master had been killed.

Cursing my lack of tact, I slowly turned to read the celestial spirit's expression.  
I frowned when the confusion that was there before hadn't disappeared or been replaced.

"Aquarius?" I asked delicately, drawing her attention away from my text book. She hadn't been close enough to it to read the small text; she would've only seen the pictures.

"I guess I won't be much help with History stuff." She confessed, giving me an embarrassed smile.

Did she not remember the death of her old master?

"Why? Celestial spirits are immortal, you must have-"  
"I'm technically a new spirit." She interrupted me. "I can't tell you the details because of the spirit king's law against it, but basically, you're the first human I've ever had a contract with. Other than that, I know next to nothing of human affairs."

I gawked at her, opening my mouth to ask a question when she spoke yet again, "Don't bother asking, you won't get any answers." Her sudden sternness made me snap my mouth closed.

"So you have no information for my paper at all?" I asked, trying not to sound too disappointed.

She sighed, pausing to think before turning her attention back to my text book.  
"I know what that guild was like 50 years ago. Fairy Tail, I mean." A fond smile reached her lips, and she motioned for me to bring her the book.

I frowned as I conceded with her request. Wouldn't that mean she'd been contracted to the celestial mage at the time? This was way too confusing!

"Ahh yes. _Fairy Tail guild mark."_ She quoted the caption aloud, stroking the picture. _"It is believed that every guild member lost their-"_

Her breath hitched as she failed to finish the sentence.  
She dropped the book, making me jump when it fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Aquarius, what's wrong? Didn't you know?" I questioned her frantically when tears started pouring out of her wide, grief-stricken eyes.  
Suddenly, it was as if gravity had no effect on the water in my room. The water in the glass next to my bed rose into the air, as well as the water in the sink. I could hear a sizzling sound as the water dispersed itself, entering plug holes and creating sparks of electricity.

I needed to send Aquarius back. Whatever she'd read, she shouldn't have read it. She was losing control.  
My heart ached for her as I glanced once more at her tragically misery-ridden expression.

"Close, gate of Aquarius." I whispered.

The water in my room fell back down as she disappeared.  
Never before in my life have I been so confused.

 **A/N: So do you guys have a good idea of the mystery behind the impossible key?**

 **I'm really glad that people have responded well to this so far, the reviews I got were great motivation to keep this going**

 **hmbn: as much as I would love to write a story with a happy ending where they went back in time to save everyone, that isn't the direction I'm taking with this. There's no time travel, sorry!**

 **Avian Royalty: yep, spot on! thank you so much**

 **Love'sAlwaysRight: haha, I'm glad you think so, thank you!**

 **-usnoozulose**


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey ginger, where's Levy?" was the only greeting I received as I walked into the dusty old shack, taking my seat between Quentin and Dylan.

"She told me to go on ahead today, and for the last time, quit calling me ginger, Dylan!" I groaned tiredly. As much as I wanted to give that dweeb a taste of his own medicine, I'd decided long ago not to sink to his level of name-calling.

And as usual, he ignored me.  
"Oi hippy, have I got her colours right yet?" he addressed the other boy before adorning a focused expression. His hair gradually darkened into an orange colour from the roots upwards, while an emerald green colour started enveloping the brown in his eyes.

Before I knew it, Quentin's hands had gripped onto my shoulders to keep me still as he compared my colours to Dylan's magic.  
He smirked as I rolled my eyes at the colour mage's futile weekly mission.  
"No chance peacock, you'll never get it right." Quentin teased the other boy, earning a punch in the face.

I had to steady both him and myself seeing as he was still holding my arms. Honestly, I think I was the one who was prone to the most danger when I got in the middle of their fights.

"No way! I've totally got it now!" Dylan announced, confusing me when he stood up straight, shooting me a cheeky smile before clearing his throat and talking in an oddly high voice, "Hey, look at me! I'm Alice and my idea of company is a weird snowman!"

My jaw fell in exasperation when I realised what he was doing. Meanwhile, Quentin had released a roar of laughter.

"I have a short attention span but if you state the fact I'm ginger, I'll manage to spend the next three hours lecturing you on how rude you- HEY! OUCH!" he finally stopped his crude imitation of me when I grabbed his ear. To my relief, his hair and eye colour instantly switched back to normal.

"Holy shit, now _that_ was spot on!" Quentin commented once he'd stopped chuckling.  
I wasted no time in grabbing his ear as well.  
"Hey, I didn't do anything, it was the chameleon!" he argued, putting his hands up.

"Don't throw me under the bus, tree hugger, you found it funny!" Dylan retorted, pulling out of my grip.  
"You wanna call me tree hugger to my face, you dumb blonde?" Quentin taunted, also pulling out of my grip.

Predicting what was to come, I took a few steps back.

"Oh please, ever since you dyed your hair blonde you have no right to call me that, copy-cat!"

"Pssht, that's rich coming from someone intent on copying other people's colours!"

"Yeah, well, you also copy animals and plants!"

"Which comes in handy when I'm beating your colourful ass!"

"You wanna go?"

"Bring it on!"

And with that, Dylan vanished before my very eyes. This was the most interesting part of his magic; he was able to adopt the colours of any background he was against, no matter which direction you looked at him from. The result; he became invisible.

Quentin cursed when he received an unexpected kick to the shins, before large, black, pointed ears replaced his normal ones.  
I smiled when I remembered the animal he'd gotten those from.

 _Levy had just introduced us to each other, and while I was quiet, reserved and unused to human interaction, the boys I'd just met were lively and talkative.  
Oh, and they fought a lot. _

_To be honest, I was a tad scared of them at first. Not that I thought they would fight me; I guess I was just a little intimidated by them.  
I sat alone of the grass while they sparred, undisturbed until I heard a pained peeping noise. I crawled towards it, only to find a small, black creature. _

_There were no feathers, so I knew it wasn't a bird. It had wings though – thin bones draped in fragile-looking black skin. One of them was bent at an odd angle._

 _"Guys! I found an injured bat!" I called out, afraid to touch the creature in case I caused it further pain.  
I guess the fact that I'd actually spoken up startled them, and they ran towards me.  
Okay. Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to call the rowdy boys over. What if they started poking it or something?_

 _But to my surprise, upon seeing it, the small, dark-skinned boy named Quentin approached the animal rather timidly.  
"You've taken a fall there, haven't you, buddy?" His voice was a lot friendlier than it was when he was shouting insults at Dylan._

 _I watched as he slid his hand delicately under the poor bat, making sure not to move it too much.  
"You, ginger girl, Could you get a stick I could use as a splint?" he asked me, grinning.  
I didn't bother to correct my name; after all, we'd just met. How was I supposed to know he would end up calling me that years later?_

 _I nodded, searching the ground.  
"Rainbow boy, you can find some string to attach the splint. I'm going to bring Mary inside where it's warm."_

 _I frowned, still looking for a suitably sized stick. Who was Mary? It didn't take long for me to get an answer.  
"Jheez, he always gives his pets the most boring names" Dylan muttered._

 _I while later, I was watching in awe as Quentin tied the splint almost professionally. I mean, the boy was only 10, like me! How did he know what he was doing?_

 _"You do this often, don't you?" I asked.  
"Yeah. This is my first time with a bat, though. I'm used to saving plants and insects, not mammals." He smiled at me, continuing when he noticed my questioning expression._

 _"It's to do with my magic. When I create a strong bond with a living thing by helping it out significantly, as long as it's not human, I'm able to take on one of its features myself. It's a win-win situation if you ask me." he grinned proudly._

 _I perked up when I heard this.  
"That's sort of like my spirit magic! It relies on the strength of my bond with the celestial spirits I have a contract with." I gushed excitedly._

 _"Celestial what now?" Dylan asked.  
I was ecstatic when I realised both boys were looking at me, seeming genuinely interested in my magic. And that conversation in which we all learnt about each other's magic was the start of our friendship. _

_I looked over at Quentin feeding Mary.  
"So what feature will you get from her, then?" I asked._

 _"No idea. But don't bats have really sensitive hearing?" he pondered._

Quentin's speedy jump across the room to punch a solid object I couldn't see, stunned me out of my flashback.  
"I can hear you." The nature mage taunted his invisible rival.

"What did I say about fighting before class?" an irritated voice called from the doorway.  
Ah, our dear teacher had finally arrived.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Quentin and Dylan, good job. You guys are getting really good at researching. But Dylan, for the last time, there's really no need to change the colour of every letter…" Levy commented, handing the guys' papers back.

"Alice, I have to say I'm disappointed. What happened to the multiple sources you were supposed to use?" she turned to me, her eyebrow raised.

After Aquarius' freak out last night, my brain was too confuddled to carry on with the assignment. I mean, it's not every day that you manage to summon one of the 12 zodiac keys, only for the whole ordeal to end up with a forced gate closure.

I'd decided not to call out the mourning spirit for a while. It was unfair, really; if I left her alone for an entire 3 months, she would only have one day in the spirit world to deal with her grief.

All I know is that if I told Levy about the spirit who may have had a connection to the celestial mage who was killed by E.N.D., she would want me to summon her. And I don't think Aquarius was ready for that.

"I figured since you would tell us the truth today, there was no point in copying stuff down from dodgy textbooks." I lied smoothly, mentally preparing myself for a lecture about how I should have been practising my writing skills anyway.

Instead, the teacher surprised me with a simple question.  
"Have you brought your keys with you today?"

I nodded, paranoid that she knew about Aquarius' key. When she adopted her signature serious teaching face, though, I breathed a sigh of relief at her lack of further questions.

"I'm now going to tell you my account of the true events. I would appreciate if you kids would not interrupt."

I ignored the fact that she called us kids. Hell, I even ignored the frolicking squirrels outside that always managed to draw my attention away from Levy's classes. Finally, some answers.

"It was indeed the day of the dragon king festival; the text books got that right. I was not present for Zeref's defeat of Acnologia, however I know what transpired between Zeref and E.N.D."

She paused before continuing.

"First of all, I need to explain a bit about my past. I was in the guild, Fairy Tail, as you may have already guessed. There's the first mistake with the text book; not every member of the guild died. In that guild, I had many friends, two of whom are essential to the events that transpired that day. The first was a fire dragon slayer named Natsu Dragneel, whilst the other… was the celestial mage mentioned in the text book. Her name was Lucy Heartfilia."

I didn't have to ask to know that she was close to that Lucy girl. Her eyes spoke the emotions she was bottling up inside her.

I continued to watch her eyes as she told us the background behind her friends; her revelation that Natsu was Zeref's resurrected brother was astonishing. Who knew magic could actually be used for something like that?  
The tragedy was evident when she explained how this boy she'd known since childhood ended up as the demon that now terrorised the whole world.

I noticed though, that she spoke as if she was defending him. She was still defending the demon that killed all her friends before her very eyes.

"The most sickening lie in the textbook, though, is the accusation that Natsu killed Lucy."

She didn't call him E.N.D.

"The truth is that Natsu loved Lucy. They loved each other, really. And Zeref used this knowledge against his own brother to get what he wanted."

This sudden humanisation of that demon was almost too much for me to take in. I'd expected a lot from Levy's full explanation, but what I hadn't at all been expecting was a love story.

"You see, Zeref wanted to die, and was aware that the demon he put inside Natsu was the only one who could grant his wish. And to release E.N.D., he had to get rid of the person who meant the most in the world to his brother."

I gasped before she even finished the story.

"Zeref killed Lucy, and Natsu lost control. He lost… himself."

There was an elongated silence as Levy turned around to hide her face, leaving the three of us to gawk disbelievingly at her back.

"You kids can recall where the safe places on Earthland are, right?" She asked rhetorically. "funnily enough, those are the places where Natsu and Lucy met and visited on their adventures."

She then turned to us, a sad smile set on her face.

"I believe that's because Natsu is still in there, mourning."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm actually having some trouble writing this story. I definitely know what the last scene is going to be, but I'm still debating how it's going to lead to that.**

 **Anyway, I hope this sort of filler chapter in which I developed the characters a bit more was enough for now.**

 **Compucles – yep, I really do give you guys too little credit. There's actually a bit more to it than that, but that'll be revealed in later chapters. And thanks for doing the maths, I hope it's pretty much accurate because I may be mentioning those figures in the story!  
I feel like if Levy saved the keys, she would have given them to Alice, so I'll have to think of another place they are (I haven't actually decided yet)**

 **Shadow lance123 – a new Aquarius key was made, and there's a new Aquarius. Sorry if my writing is a little confusing, feel free to ask any more questions you have!**

 **Thank you guys so much for the reviews, I'm glad you're liking it so far!**

 **-usnoozulose**


	4. Chapter 4

I never thought I'd see the day where I actually felt… sorry for E. N. D.. That demon was the reason I was trapped here; the reason everyone was struggling to live, and yet here I was realising how much of a cinnamon roll he really was.

I mean, destroying Earthland is a shitty way to mourn, but I had a feeling that was the demon's actions. Not… Natsu's.

To top it all off, I still hadn't received any answers as to why Aquarius claimed not to be a part of this when she clearly was.

"Alice?" I looked up to see Levy's face close to mine and jumped. Despite the story she'd just told, an irritating look of amusement showed on her face at my reaction.  
"I see shock tends to make your attention span worse." She commented. "But to repeat my request – I was wondering if you could bring Lyra out? You said you brought your keys today."

"Why Lyra? Is your radio broken?" I asked coolly, secretly relieved she hadn't asked about my newly acquired spirit contract.  
The teacher pursed her lips before speaking again.

"I was hoping you would have made the connection when you read about the celestial mage, Lucy. You should have used your spirits as a source."

 _Yeah, I did, and look where that got me,_ I complained in my head.  
Then the idea came to me. Levy was asking for Lyra specifically. If this meant what I thought it did…

Levy's reaction when I'd first called out Lyra for her suddenly made a lot more sense.

 _She'd asked about my keys other than Pablo, the Canis Minor, and I'd lied, saying I only had one other silver key. I wasn't going to tell anyone about Aquarius until I managed to summon her._

 _At her request, I summoned my other silver key, jokingly warning the old bat that this spirit was particularly good at making people cry._

 _I wasn't expecting the extra moisture to fill the older woman's eyes when they landed on Lyra. She just stared at the spirit, looking both nostalgic and in pain, as if an old wound was being opened.  
Lyra simply smiled at her, not thrown by Levy's emotional reaction at all. _

_"You know, you're only supposed to start crying after she shows you her power." I commented, shaking my head. Honestly, the woman must've accidentally taken my warning seriously._

 _I watched as my spirit nodded a greeting towards the woman who'd taken me in, then put her hands to her harp. She played a song she'd never played for me before, which surprised me, especially since this one was strikingly beautiful.  
I didn't understand it at the time, but Levy was so moved by the end that she embraced Lyra like an old friend. _

_The thing that really confused me, though? I could have sworn I saw a tear escaping the spirit's eye as I called her back._

But now… now I understood.

"Lyra… her key used to belong to Lucy, didn't it?" I asked incredulously.

I didn't wait for her to answer as I eagerly reached into my bag to retrieve the key.  
"Open, gate of Lyra." I breathed out upon securing the silver key in my hand.

A bright flash of gold later, the spirit appeared in front of me.  
"Hey, Alice and friends. I'm assuming you want something a little upbeat to sooth the tension in here?" she asked cheerily.

"Actually, Lyra," Levy called the spirit's attention to her, "I was hoping – if it was okay with you – that you could tell us about your former key-holder."  
The sound of a sharp intake of breath left the musician's mouth. Her eyes darted back to mine and I gave her an encouraging smile.

"You don't have to talk about Lucy if you don't want to, but the old coot here wants multiple sources on what happened back… then." I stopped myself from mentioning her death.

To my confusion, however, Lyra started fidgeting anxiously, glancing at the floor. I mean, grief or anger at losing an old friend of hers would have been what I expected, but not this.

"Information on Lucy Heartfilia is classified on orders of the celestial spirit king and I can't answer your question and I'm sorry, please accept a song of your choice instead." She rushed all in one breath, almost as if she'd rehearsed it.

I was stunned. Before yesterday, I'd never been met with that sort of response from one of my spirits. Why did everything to do with their old master suddenly reduce them to forced silence?

"Well so much for Ginger's contribution then." Dylan teased beside me, oblivious to the bizarreness of the spirit's behaviour.  
"Oh, play something by Metallica! I've always wanted to hear Heavy metal music on a harp!" Quentin requested Lyra enthusiastically, sitting up.

Brushing off her initial awkwardness, Lyra shot an unreadable look at Levy before turning to me.  
"I wouldn't look too far into this, Alice." She recommended almost sternly before clearing her throat.

"So… is 'Enter Sandman' okay, Quentin?" she smiled, attempting to shrug off what had just transpired.

Quentin was about to reply when a shrill sound echoed through what I suspected was the whole of Magnolia.  
Covering my ears, it took a few seconds for a sudden dreadful realisation to hit all of us like a slap to the face.

 _This couldn't be happening. Not here. Not after all these years of apparent safety._

With shaking hands, the first movement I made was one to call Lyra back into the spirit world. As Levy gently placed a hand on my back to push me towards the evacuation point, unable to make herself heard over the warning siren, I noted that things hadn't felt this surreal since my parents died.

To my right, I saw that Dylan's complexion had gone paler, to the point of turning white; he looked like a shocked ghost.  
To my left, Quentin was walking unsteadily due to the fact that his head was looking over his shoulder. I'd make sure to ask him if he saw anything; I didn't have the guts to witness what may be going on behind us.

Levy's hand was still comfortingly pushing me forwards as we joined a stampede of people rushing towards the evacuation point.

I remembered the information that had been ingrained into my head when I was younger; if a situation like this was to occur, our only option would be to travel through the danger area towards the nearest safe town; Haregon. Stay in groups. Ration food appropriately. Don't stop to rest if you can help it. Don't panic.

People were evidently ignoring that last point. I couldn't blame them. I mean, after decades of being a safe area, it seemed that Magnolia was no longer deserving of that title.

That siren was the warning signal only to be used if E.N.D. was spotted nearby.

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

When I said I wanted to get out of Magnolia, I didn't mean _this._

The trek across no-man's land only brought the complete and utter destruction of Earthland to attention; this once-beautiful area was now a desolate wasteland.

I could tell that Quentin was the most disturbed by his surroundings; he was a fish out of water in a place where all the nature had been destroyed. Meanwhile, Dylan was distracting himself by replicating the colours of the weary people we passed as we walked towards the next safe area.

My usual itch to explore was non-existent; I knew there would be nothing interesting in this wide-open space. It gave me the feeling that even if I were to overturn every rock, all I would see was the same cracked earth that dominated the scenery here.

Everyone was struggling to take this all in, especially the people who lived before E. N. D.

And then, to top it all off, there was the universal feeling of impending doom as we collectively prepared ourselves for the possibility of the demon catching up with us any second, burning us to a crisp.

However, people were starting to take comfort in the fact that nothing had happened so far. We'd been travelling on foot for about a day without anything happening, so the feeling of hope was slowly but surely returning.  
So much so, that Levy had ventured backwards, hoping to get some information out of the soldiers who had delayed their departure to make sure everyone evacuated.

Needless to say, my tension increased tenfold when she left.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It was early morning, just before the sun rose, and people were finally stopping to rest after walking endlessly throughout the night. My head was swimming with exhaustion. I was so tired that I almost didn't care that I was sleeping on the hard, dry, ground.

Almost.  
I missed my bed. My clothes. If I hadn't taken my keys with me today, they would've still been in my room, abandoned.  
I shuddered at the thought.

"I finally caught up with you guys!" Levy announced as she approached us, looking drained from walking back and forth but otherwise strangely positive.

"You really shouldn't tire yourself out at your age-"  
"I'm perfectly fine, Dylan, thanks." The woman huffed, settling down next to us. "Anyway, it seems the soldiers who spotted Natsu were incredibly baffled. I, on the other hand? Not so much." She mused, smiling slightly to herself.

Now, this got my attention, as well as the boys'. People saw E.N.D…. and survived? That was nearly unheard of. Whoever they were, they should count themselves lucky.

"What did they see?" Quentin asked.

"They told me he was just… walking." She replied thoughtfully. "He wasn't flying or making noise or destroying anything. Just walking."

I contemplated this. If I'd heard that a few days ago, I wouldn't have believed her. But now that I knew there was a person who'd lost someone inside of that demon, it seemed plausible.

"And it makes sense to you?" Quentin pushed, as unable to process this as I was.

Levy sighed and looked up to the stars, as if searching for a specific constellation.

"It was the 50th anniversary of her death. Lucy's death. According to the soldiers, he was heading towards the heart of Magnolia, where our old guild used to be."

 _Where you'd found me,_ I added in my head.

The words she'd said before suddenly came to mind.  
 _I believe that's because Natsu is still in there, mourning_

I found myself believing that more and more ever since I'd heard it.

"Hey, Ginger?" Dylan called my attention, interrupting the thought-filled silence that had occurred. "Call Lyra out, would you? I think everyone here would appreciate it."

I looked around to see restless, tense expressions mirrored on every face the moonlight hit. I doubted anyone would get a proper sleep before we arrived at our destination.

Quentin instantly raised his head excitedly, opening his mouth.  
"No Metallica, you damn hippy." Dylan interjected swiftly, smirking when Quentin pouted in disappointment.

With a slight giggle, I called her out, ignoring how many of the on-edge people around us flinched at the sudden light.  
"You got a song to cure the horrific feeling of inescapable terror, Lyra?" I asked sweetly.

Glancing at her surroundings, she sighed before pulling her harp closer towards her.  
"I'll see what I can do." She grinned determinedly.

Despite the rather large audience she'd gathered, she was met by a timid round of applause when her song ended. Nevertheless, the atmosphere had become less suffocating with every pluck of a string.

Suddenly, I found myself at least 50% more willing to sleep. Which was a start, at least.

"That'll do, Lyra. Thank you." I yawned, before calling her away.

* * *

 **A/N: after long last, I finally updated! I've decided what direction to take this fanfic in now. I was worried that the events may turn out to be one of those 'too good to be true' clichés, but this story was too tragic to be true to start off with so I reckon it'll even it out.**

 **Love'sAlwaysRight : So far, I'm picturing E.N.D. as an almost mindless monster but with Natsu influences if that makes sense. But that may change, depending on how I feel when I'm writing scenes with E.N.D. interactions in it, so thanks for the tip!**

 **Compucles: Honestly, I haven't yet decided how many characters survived. I want to bring all the characters back as much as you do, believe me, but the art of writing angst is calling to me**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews, as well as the follows and favourites!**

 **One last thing – bring romance between OCs into the story or can it do without it?**

 **-usnoozulose**


	5. Chapter 5

Happy tears streaked down the faces of nearly everyone as an area of civilisation surrounded by tall, crudely-built walls came into view.  
We'd been walking relentlessly for days, and we finally knew we'd made it.

Needless to say, it was a great feeling.

As we came closer, I could see watch-towers with gobsmacked people running around in them, every now and again pointing towards the group of refugees that had shown up at their front door.

"What's happening?" I asked Quentin, who'd already morphed his ears into ones that would hear better.

"They're fighting over whether to let us in or not." He mused nonchalantly while the rest of us stared at him in horror. Would they really allow us to die out here?

"W- What?" I stuttered.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. One of the people who didn't want us in almost got chucked off the top of the watch tower. The majority of them are pro-refugee."

I breathed a sigh of relief, almost whacking him over the head for not saying that in the first place.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

About two hours later, we'd been welcomed into the town and gathered at the port so that they could figure out what to do with us. Kind citizens were exchanging stories with us, giving us the food they could spare, as well as extra clothing to replace what we'd been wearing for several days now.  
Meanwhile, others were running around, trying to find spare houses and rooms to accommodate us all. I was overwhelmed by the sheer generosity within this town.

I didn't blame them in the least for being disorganised. In fact, I was glad at the delay of being issued a place to live from now on.

Why, you ask?

Never before in my life had I seen the sea. And here I was, being given an opportunity to stay here and explore it.  
I was ecstatic. As much as the loss of my old town stung, I couldn't deny that this was what I had been waiting for.

There was water as far as the eye could see, and a strong smell of fresh salt and seafood. There were wooden boats – like the ones in my textbook – lined along the shore, just begging me to steal one of them and sail off.

I imagined the wind rippling through my hair as I looked into the clear waters to find all sorts of new wildlife. I would sail as far as the town restrictions would allow me, diving into the sea when I wanted a swim and finding an area where the seaweed tickled my feet. I could experience all of that right now… and all I needed to do was to hop into one of those boats un-noticed.

And I would've if Dylan hadn't grabbed my arm, dragging me back towards an exasperated Levy.

"Must I remind you of the basic principles of being a good citizen, Alice?" she asked me condescendingly, no doubt having noticed the determined look in my eyes as I made a beeline towards the boats.  
"Must I remind you that there's a difference between stealing and simply getting a closer look, Levy?" I retorted with fake innocence.

She huffed and I grinned. After all, I would get plenty of time to explore later anyway. Probably legally.

"Hey! Guess who just powered up by releasing an eel trapped in a net!" Quentin announced, approaching us.

"Nobody wants to hear about your newfound slime powers, dingus." Dylan taunted him with a disgusted expression.

I sighed, taking a step closer to Levy and away from the boys. Trust them to make a scene in a crisis like this.

"You're just jealous that you can't smell underwater!" Quentin bellowed angrily.

"I can't- I- PAHAHAHA, that's so lame, you think I'm jealous of that?" the colour mage instantly broke down in a fit of giggles, only adding to Quentin's rage.

"You're jealous that you'd be powerless against me in every terrain, chameleon!"

"Yeah? You wanna test that out, slime ball?"

Bored with their antics, I decided to see how the locals were reacting to this amusing display. And I must say, I wasn't disappointed. As my two best friends wrestled on the floor, I swear I even saw people placing bets on who would win.

But my eyes eventually locked onto the eyes of one person, about 20 metres away, who looked far from amused. He was old – I'd say over the age of 65 – and very tall. A girl about my age was attempting to get his attention, but evidently failing. His red eyes were fixed onto the fight… wait, no, they weren't…

They were fixed into the thing right next to me; the back of Levy's head.  
He looked like the sort of person who would be quick to anger, which made my muscles tense up. I wasn't close enough to see his expression clearly, but I knew in my gut that something was wrong.

"Levy." I whispered cautiously, grabbing her arm, not taking my eyes off the man.  
"Yeah, yeah I know, I'll break the boys up once they blow off a little steam-"

"I think we should move. I'm pretty sure this dude is giving you the evils right now." I said quietly. I'm sure I imagined it, but I could've sworn the old man's eyes flicked to me angrily before returning to Levy.

Before I could stop her, Levy glanced around to look in his direction.

The change in atmosphere was instantly noticeable. It was like an electric shock had passed between Levy and the old man when they finally made eye contact. I almost convinced myself that there was foul magic at play when they simply froze, both with mouths slightly open in complete and utter shock.

Tearing my eyes away from this confusing display, I saw that both Quentin and Dylan had stopped fighting and were looking at Levy with worried expressions.

Just as I opened my mouth to ask what the hell was going on, I felt Levy's arm firmly pulling out of my grip. I looked back at her to see that she had started walking towards the man, almost in a dream-like state.  
Just as I was about to follow her, she quickened her pace.

The man she was heading towards, who I quickly deducted must be someone from her past, simply stayed rooted to the ground. His eyes were now wide and disbelieving; he almost looked scared.

So, if he was from Levy's past… was he a good or bad guy?  
All I knew was that I'd never seen my mother figure act like this. Good or bad, this guy was definitely bringing up demons from her past.

Levy eventually slowed down to a halt about two metres from the man. I made sure to stay behind her in case things took a turn for the worst, even though I knew I wouldn't really be able to do anything.

A single word came out of Levy's mouth.

"Gajeel?" her voice was wobbling and sounded painfully fragile.

The man suddenly slipped out of his daze with a deep intake of breath. There were tears forming in his eyes.

"Shrimp." Was the only word he uttered.  
And I would've laughed at the oddness of saying the name of a random crustacean if it hadn't been for Levy's instant reaction.

With a sob, she leaped into the man's arms with unexpected agility. I was worried the old man would fall over, but instead he leaned into the embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist as he dug his face into her hair.

As I stared at the scene in front of me with fascination, the realisation came to me. This was a reunion. And not just any reunion. The scene replicated that of two newlyweds; two people who loved each other. In that moment, their age, surroundings, past, anything but each other was irrelevant.

So if this Gajeel guy was evidently extremely important to her, why did she never mention him?

"I thought you were dead." Levy whispered as she reluctantly drew away from the tall man. She kept her hands tight on his arms and her eyes fixed on his face though, as if she was afraid he would disappear as soon as she looked away.  
"Y-you took that hit for me. I don't understand how-"

"I'm not the only one who should've died, shrimp. There was no way…" Gajeel trailed off, a sudden look of pained distrust in his eyes.  
"I swear to Mavis, if I'm dreaming again-"

He couldn't finish his empty threat before levy tightened her grip, silencing him.  
"Stupid dragon. This is real. Even if it doesn't make sense, it's real." She sobbed quietly, digging her face into his chest.

I didn't know whether or not to look away from the tear-jerking scene in front of me. I'd never really been one for romance… but if I were to be with someone one day, I hoped it would be like this. Not the tragic separation, of course, but just the sincere… love. Love so strong it looks foreign to everyone but your significant other.

"You're with the shrimp woman, right?"

The sudden gruff voice next to me made me jump out of my daze. Tearing my eyes away from the lover's reunion, I came face-to-face with the girl who'd been with Gajeel earlier.  
They may not have looked similar, but they clearly shared an aura. Everything – from her shaved punk-style black hair to the slant in her brown eyes to the pierced septum - screamed intimidation.

But she didn't look like she was going to beat me up… yet.

"Wish I was. I love seafood." I replied with a straight face.  
Okay, so maybe I was trying to hide how daunted I was with a half-assed joke. God, she probably thought I had a screw loose or something…

"Don't listen to Alice, her attention span is shorter than your hair." Dylan jumped between us, clumsily draping an arm over my shoulder.

I noticed that both he and Quentin were avoiding looking at our mother figure sobbing while the weird man hugged her, too.

"Her name's Levy, actually. And I'm Quentin. Pleased to meet you…?"  
"Whatever. I don't know what that shrimp did to the old man but he's suddenly turned all gross on me. You guys wanna ditch them?" the girl expertly failed to respond to the nature mage's prompt.

A sudden idea struck me. She knew the area, right?  
"I want to go exploring." I found myself blurting out, failing to hide my enthusiasm.  
Damn it, Alice. Way to weird someone out in one minute. Maybe if I just said something normal now she wouldn't think I'm a total-

"Good thinking." The girl quipped unexpectedly.

"Wait, what? Really? You'll show us around?" I asked, a grin creeping onto my face.

She smiled back, and I tried to hide my shock over the revealing of her pointed teeth.  
"Sure. If you tell me all the gruesome END details." She replied with a slight mad tint in her eye.

As I contemplated her request, I surprisingly found myself to be more at ease in her presence. I don't know why. Maybe the fact that she was bat-shit crazy appealed to someone like me.

"Are you really sure you want to know? We saw a lot of stuff that's not really for the faint hearted…" I lied effortlessly, feigning reluctance.  
"What are you talking about? We didn't-"  
I slapped a hand over Dylan's big mouth before he could ruin my plan.

"I know we didn't plan on talking about it, Dylan. But I really think talking will ease our minds of the trauma we've just been through, understand?" I drawled dramatically, before turning back towards the girl.

"So, where do we get to explore first?" I asked.

Another glint of her sharp teeth, and I knew she'd fallen for it.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Wait, so when that guy got decapitated, was it like a fountain of blood or did the flames cauterise it?" her eyes bored into mine as I attempted to weave the most ghastly story I'd ever had to come up with.  
"I don't know, I was too busy watching the head as it flew away." I replied with a shrug.

"Poor bastard. So you guys didn't get any battle scars?" she asked enthusiastically.

"I'm afraid if I said no, you'd try to make up for that." Quentin confessed, eyeing the girl suspiciously. Needless to say, both the boys found her utterly terrifying. Luckily, after Dylan finally understood why I was lying, he added a few details to the story.

His contributions stopped once he started getting asked very… specific questions. Meanwhile, it looked like Quentin was trying not to throw up. It was kinda hilarious.

"Oh no, I'm not a fan of inflicting too much violence. But if it's there, you might as well admire it, you know?" she reassured him, stopping in her tracks before he could respond.  
"Anyway, over there's the beach. And there's the centre of town. Oh, and that's the way to the hospital… Just in case." She droned, pointing in different directions.

I expected her to keep going, to tell us where the best places to relax were or even where her favourite place to hang out was. But, as I watched her simply smiling at us as we stood there, looking around… I realised that that was it. That was our tour.  
Maybe I should define the term 'explore' to her…

"So tell me more about what END looked like. Was it like the text books or what?" she asked, her voice losing its monotone quality instantly.

"Oh, yeah." I replied half-heartedly. "Exactly like the text books."  
I saw a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes before she suddenly perked up as if she'd heard her name being called.

"Gajeel and shrimp are looking for us." she murmured.

"Erm… am I the only one who didn't hear anything?" Dylan asked with uncertainty.  
Both me and Quentin shook our heads and looked back at the girl who had made the claim.

She simply chuckled and pointed to her ears.  
"Magic dragon slayer hearing. You guys are totally missing out on comedy gold right now." She cleared her throat, taking on an even deeper and more gruff tone, "Get your ass here or I'll double your training times!" she imitated.

"Ooh, let's see if I can hear it." Quentin said, his ears being replaced with the bat ones for the second time that day.

"What the hell…" I heard the girl mumble under her breath before being spoken over.

"I can hear someone shouting about asses… calling for Rome or something." Quentin observed, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, Rome's my name, but more importantly… what…" she left her sentence unfinished, simply staring wide-eyed at the big, black ears.  
"Calm down, he's just a nature mage. If you wanna see something cool, you can watch me turn into a rainbow." Dylan interjected, already adorning a blue face and red hands.

The girl, Rome, took one gobsmacked look at Dylan before looking at me questioningly. I responded to her silent enquiry by holding up my celestial keys.  
"I don't know why you're acting so surprised, being a mage yourself." I commented.

"Are you kidding? As far as I know, the old man and I are the only people who can use magic here." She replied, still staring at us in awe. "Is it, like, common where you're from?"  
"Not really. There's nobody else our age who could use magic." I replied.

Rome seemed to be lost in thought for a while before grinning widely.  
"I've always wanted sparring buddies." She exclaimed with a crazed gleam in her eye, looking at the three of us as if we were pieces of meat.

She then ran off, saying something about Gajeel getting impatient and motioning for us to follow.  
All the while, I was making mental notes never to let Pablo or Lyra within a 5 mile radius of this somewhat intriguing, yet terrifying mental-case of a girl.

* * *

 **A/N: what's this? An update? So I'm not actually dead? It's a miracle!**

 **Yeah, sorry guys. I'm kind of on hiatus right now but I managed to get this update out. Honestly, I wanted to get a lot more in this chapter (like how gajeel survived etc) but I'll have to leave it till next update.**  
 **I also really enjoyed writing the original character of Rome. Like, really enjoyed it.**  
 **So, I received loads of mixed responses about the OC romance. I've decided where to go with it, and the only spoiler I'm giving out is that there will not be a love triangle (love triangles are my least favourite plot device, sorry)**

 **Thank you everyone for the reviews, keep them coming!**  
 **-usnoozulose**


	6. Chapter 6

_Rome seemed to be lost in thought for a while before grinning widely.  
"I've always wanted sparring buddies." She exclaimed with a crazed gleam in her eye, looking at the three of us as if we were pieces of meat. _

_She then ran off, saying something about Gajeel getting impatient and motioning for us to follow.  
All the while, I was making mental notes never to let Pablo or Lyra within a 5 mile radius of this somewhat intriguing, yet terrifying mental-case of a girl._

* * *

"Rome, show the other squirts to the living room. Levy and I will make tea and then we'll all sit down to discuss…" Gajeel's sentence ended there as he paused yet again to stare at the woman next to him.  
I could see how surreal this all was to the two former Fairy Tail mages. I mean, how were they supposed to act now that the person who had haunted their dreams all these years was right next to them, alive and breathing?

Gajeel seemed to be going for the overly-casual act as if he brought a ghost of his past into his home every other day. Levy, on the other hand, was timidly commenting on every new endearing quality he'd gained over the years, making even the wrinkles around his eyes sound like they added to his charm.

"You used correct grammar." was the last thing I heard Levy say before we were led into separate rooms.

The boys and I followed Rome into a room with several chairs positioned around the outside, creating a large bare space in the middle where the carpet seemed to be scuffed and ripped in random places. The wallpaper had seen better days, too. The décor would've screamed chaos, had it not been for the oddly pristine pictures hanging on the wall. Whatever destruction marred the surroundings, it always strategically avoided them.

To the unknowing eye, this place looked like several mini hurricanes had swept through. But, having known Rome for only a few hours, I figured this was the room where she'd spent her fondest memories getting beaten to the ground by Gajeel.  
In a loving way, of course.

"So, Rome, about my magic. It's not just rainbows I can turn into." Dylan said, bringing a chair towards the centre of the room. "If you let me stare into your eyes for a bit, I can-  
"Number one, don't finish that sentence. Number two, shh. Their conversation's getting interesting. Shrimp lady just asked how he survived." Rome hissed, pressing her ear to the wall which I suspected was connected to the kitchen.

"Yet another situation in which your magic is useless, chameleon" Quentin grinned, his bat ears already in place.  
"What are they saying?" I asked him quickly, preventing the fuming colour mage from starting yet another fight.

"Gajeel's saying something about… Lily? I think it's someone's name." Quentin paused. "Yeah. Someone named Lily flew him to safety. Both in pretty bad condition… yadda yadda yadda… amputated limbs and whatnot… Oh." He stopped abruptly.  
"What?" Dylan asked.  
"Lily didn't make it." Rome filled us in. "There's a picture of Lily over there – he's the black one. Most badass cat ever, from what I've heard."  
She pointed to a painting with aged cracks at the edges. The paint was faded, however the blue colour of one of the cats depicted definitely stood out. There was also a feminine white cat and a tough-looking black cat… with wings…

"Exceeds." I said, only to be shushed by both Quentin and Rome. A few seconds of silence followed, in which I started glancing at the other pictures in the room.

"No way. Your magic can be used to replace missing limbs?" the nature mage suddenly asked the dragon-slayer-in-training.  
"Yeah, it stopped Gajeel from bleeding out. It's killer being kicked with a leg made entirely out of iron, though." She replied with a shrug.

"Have they talked about how Levy survived yet?" Dylan said, still looking like he was going to blow a fuse over Quentin's previous comment.  
"Did she never tell you guys about-" her head suddenly turned towards me. "Don't touch them."  
My arm stopped halfway towards another painting I'd spotted. One in which a girl looked very familiar. I'd reached out to touch it without even thinking.

"Sorry, I just-"  
"She gets distracted easily. You'll want to concentrate for this though, Alice." Quentin interrupted me, pressing his ear more firmly against the wall.

"Gajeel took a hit for Levy. But that separated them… then Gajeel saw Levy get crushed when a building fell on her. He couldn't hear her heartbeat anymore." Quentin said. "And she survived?" he added, talking to himself.

A few seconds later, he let out an amused snort.  
"Well?" Dylan prompted.  
"In the words of our dear mentor, "well I'm a fucking wizard too, you know!"" he mimicked levy's signature 'stating the obvious' voice.  
Rome whistled. "Damn, I've never heard someone scolding the old man like that. No wonder he likes her."

Suddenly, both mages with enhanced hearing took a few steps back from the wall as even my ears started to pick up the raised voices coming from the kitchen.

"You think I was incapable of saving myself?"  
"No! Of course not, I-"  
"You just… "  
"I thought you were dead!"  
"You gave up on me, Gajeel! You left me alone!"

Several silent minutes passed as we all stared wide-eyed at the wall.

"She apologised. Thank god. From the silence, I thought they'd killed each other or something." Rome finally said.  
"Guess we can't blame them for the pent-up emotions. What're they saying now?" Dylan asked.

Rome simply shuddered and turned away from the wall. "Well they're either eating food or each other's faces."

I was surprised when a small smile crept onto my face. As weird as this all was, and as much as it would change our lives, I knew that the biggest change would be Levy's happiness. She'd done so much for me over the years; if anyone deserved to be happy, it was her.  
My attention drifted back to the picture I had been reaching towards before. Again, it was faded and cracked, and the strokes of blue paint stood out against all the other colours.

The blue of Levy's hair as a much younger version of her stood in a crowd of about 20 people, all smiling as if they were determined to show as many teeth as possible. An intimidating figure next to her dwarfed her in size, but held her shoulder as an equal. Gajeel.

But the blue of Levy's hair was surprisingly not the first to take my attention. No… it had been the familiar girl wearing blue clothing. The girl with blonde hair and chocolate brown eyes…

"Shrimp's aged well, don't ya think?"

The sudden presence beside me made me jump and lose my train of thought.  
"When did you get there?" I blurted out, clutching my heart and glaring up at the perpetrator.  
Bouts of laughter filled the room, including one from the man himself.

"Not a very observant one, are ya? I've been in the room for two minutes now." Gajeel teased me.  
"I'm observant enough to know that you look at this picture of your old guild every day." I retorted, pouting.  
Gajeel raised a single pierced eyebrow in response.

"The lack of dust." I sighed. "You're either handling it regularly or you've got a feather duster somewhere. And you don't seem like the type, quite frankly."  
I focused on the picture again, trying to re-gain my original train of thought.

"You know who you remind me of? Especially with those keys you're carrying and all." Gajeel jammed a spanner into the cogs of my brain yet again, putting a heavy hand on my shoulder as he spoke. He brought the picture closer to him, and then pointed to the girl in blue clothing.

 _This girl…_

"Our old resident celestial mage. Easy to scare but bunny girl sure had a brain, right Levy?"

 _She looks exactly like Aquarius._

"Lucy Heartfilia." Levy eventually said.

I didn't reply. All I could do was frown, trying to find something about the girl which made me realise I was wrong. But alas, I was left with no doubt in my mind that the girl they called 'Lucy' in the picture was in fact Aquarius.  
All I needed now was an explanation. And maybe answers to a few of the hundred questions running through my head would have been nice.

"Something wrong?" Quentin was the one to approach me now. I faintly recognised that the conversation amongst the others had continued without me.

"Yeah. You've used Mary's bat ears so much recently and not even given me credit for finding her in the first place." I quickly lied, feigning annoyance. Whatever this Aquarius business was, it was too confusing for me to even figure out if I wanted to bother someone else with it.

I watched Quentin's expression drift from worry into amusement.  
"Honestly, I'll never understand what goes on inside that head of yours, Ginger." He said.

* * *

Gajeel told us that he'd make beds for us all first thing tomorrow. Permanent beds. He then started talking about making us build an extension for his house to provide more rooms, winking as he told us we should earn our keep.

Levy looked at him proudly throughout his attempt to cover up the fact that he was, in fact, giving us a new home without hesitation. It was almost as if the two older mages were part of some inside joke, like it was completely normal to give a bunch of strange kids a place to call home, no questions asked.

Quentin suggested materials to use for construction without contributing towards deforestation (his argument was, "it pisses off the trees"), whilst Dylan called dibs on the interior design role. The three boys discussed their new exciting project until yawns started escaping from the mouths of everyone in the room, and everyone collectively agreed to call it a day and get some sleep.

That was 2 hours ago. And yes, I was one of the ones yawning from exhaustion. But let's face it; my brain was not one to shut up in times like this. So, I eventually succumbed to the one thing that could calm my mind.  
Exploring.  
If I snuck out now, I could totally be back by morning and they would ever have to know-

"Going somewhere?"

Damn it.  
"Just wanted to see where we could expand your house. The boys are getting involved, so I might as well-"  
"You're an oddly good liar, you know that?" Rome interrupted me unexpectedly.

I made sure to pause before speaking again.  
"As Gajeel said, I need to earn my keep. I want to help with this."  
"And now you're trying to distract me from the fact that you're sneaking out." She snapped.

My head snapped towards her. Usually by this point, the person who spotted me doing something wrong would have been convinced otherwise…

A smirk crept onto her lips as she stood over me.  
"You know, I would be impressed by how well you lie if you weren't so damn compulsive about it. You don't have to lie about everything, you know."

"When have I ever lied to you?" I asked defiantly.

"I know you've been bullshitting me ever since you said that E.N.D. looks like the pictures in textbooks. You made me feel pretty stupid for believing all that other stuff, by the way. Thanks for that."

I stared wide-eyed at the girl in front of me. I didn't mean to make her feel like that…

"And don't bother asking how I know you're lying." She continued, sneering. "You're smart. You'll figure it out."

Okay, so I'd evidently dug myself into a deep hole here. Making Rome act so bitterly towards me was definitely not something I'd planned. And could she hear my heartbeat or something? Was that telling her when I was lying? No, then she would have copped on way before E.N.D.'s appearance came up…

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" she finally asked.

There was a lot that I wanted to say right now. And stuff that I wanted to get off my chest, too.  
"I'll tell you the truth." I replied, staring into her eyes. "Under one condition."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Rome groaned as I led her as close to the sea as I could get.

"No idea." I replied shortly.  
"What do you mean, no idea? You're going to get us lost!"  
"That's kind of the point of exploring, Rome." I grinned at her.

She was silent for the rest of the way whilst I looked for a place I liked. That was the condition, after all.  
Finally, I reached an area where sand was wedged between reeds that grew tall as my thighs. Using my hand to check if they were thorny or sharp beforehand, I started trudging through them, in whichever direction I saw the most sand in.

The smell of the sea was getting stronger by the second. The sound of waves crashing onto a shore I couldn't see filled the silence of the night.  
And, as I tried to ignore the emotional turmoil my brain had acquired over the last few days, my eyes finally landed on a small, calm beach that looked like it hadn't been seen by human eyes in decades.

"This is it. I'll talk to you here." I said as I took slow steps towards the place where the sand and sea met.

"Whoa." Rome spoke, taking in her surroundings as she sat on the sand beside me. "I don't even think this place is on the Haregon map."  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I mused.

Rome snorted.  
"Whatever, Dora the explorer. Now am I going to hear the truth or what?"  
"My name's Alice."  
"Okay, Dora."

Honestly, if I didn't have the rhythm of the waves relaxing me, I would have thrown a tantrum over how I'd gained yet another infuriating nickname.

Massaging my temples, I decided to start from the beginning.  
I told her about how I'd found Aquarius' key. My struggle to summon her. How I'd met Levy, and hid the truth of the key from her.

"Lying from a young age, I see." Rome commented.  
I paused to glare at her.  
"You know," I started, "You're the only human I've told about this. You're not making it any easier-"  
"Human?" she interrupted.  
"Yeah, I told Pablo and Lyra, my spirits. That reminds me…"

Reaching into my pocket, I brought Pablo's key, summoning him.  
"Haven't called you out in a while, buddy." I smiled, ticking him under his chin and placing him in my lap.

"Adorable. Now tell me why this Aquarius stuff is in any way relevant." Rome deadpanned, though I could see the intrigue in her eyes when she glanced at Pablo.

So I told her about my successful summoning of the seemingly lost zodiac spirit.

"Sounds like a complete psycho. Why didn't you say anything to Levy this time?" Rome commented once I'd finished.  
"Levy would have wanted me to call out Aquarius, seeing as she knew her old key holder. And the way that the poor spirit acted… you weren't there, Rome. It was devastating to watch. I'm not calling her out anytime soon."

The girl next to me took a few moments to run her hands through her short hair before speaking.  
"You really do care for your spirits, don't you?" she asked.  
"Well, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"  
"Good point." She smiled. "So continue with the story?"

"Well, this is where it gets really confusing." I said, looking down. "That picture of Lucy Heartfilia that you have in your house… it's not Lucy."  
"It's… not Lucy?" Rome repeated slowly.  
"It's Aquarius. It looks just like her. I know it sounds crazy, but-"  
"What? Gajeel wouldn't lie about something like that, Dora." Rome interrupted.

"I know, and neither would Levy." I said, looking up at her. "But as I said, I'm telling the truth now. So you can see how I'm having trouble trying to connect the dots."

As I expected, I felt a weight lift off me. I knew that telling the truth about what was going on would have eased my mind. So the question is, why did I lie about it so much? Why had I gone all these years without telling either one of my best friends, or even Levy? Was Rome right? Was I just a compulsive liar? Let's face it, ever since my parents lied about how they were going to survive that disease, I've known nothing different…

"What if nobody's lying and that girl is both Lucy and Aquarius?" Rome suddenly asked, bringing me back to the present. "Maybe she used to be Lucy and then she turned into Aquarius or something. Some sort of celestial voodoo stuff."

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Was this… was this the connection I'd been missing? It would explain so much…  
Why Aquarius was a seemingly new spirit  
Her reaction to her old guild's apparent annihilation  
Why Lyra didn't seem in any way upset about her old master's death  
But that would mean…

"The celestial spirit king is trying to cover this up. He didn't even tell Aquarius – Lucy – whoever she is – about what happened…" I muttered to myself.  
"Wait, so I'm right? Can that even happen with celestial magic?" Rome asked, sounding oddly exhilarated.  
"I guess. There are a lot of strange things that can be done with my magic, most of which I probably don't even know of." I explained quickly whilst my brain still raced to think through this new development.

"Hey… Alice?" my brain stopped when she used my real name. I looked up to see her smiling almost as if she was proud of me. The moonlight made the small red flecks in her brown eyes stand out, and gentle gusts of wind messed up her once styled hair, making strands fall lazily in front of her eyes. I almost lifted my hand to sweep the hair off her face…

"Thanks. For not being a douchey compulsive liar to me. You've made life a whole lot more interesting by telling the truth for once." She chuckled; her laugh was like a less annoying, feminine version of Gajeel's.  
"I should probably thank you too." I said. "I think I needed someone to call me out on my shit and actually listen for a change."

We sat there, watching the waves for a bit, before I couldn't stop myself from asking anymore.

"So… you know my secret. What are yours?"

* * *

 **A/N: I know. If this story was a nintendog, it would have run away already from my blatant neglect. I apologise.  
I also didn't cover much in this chapter, but never fear, the story is approaching its climax. And I can't wait to write it. **

**I hope people don't think this update is an April fool's joke. I mean, it's been months since I've been on this website. I had trouble remembering how to even upload stuff, I'm actually such a mess**

 **But anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, leave a review to let me know if you guys are still there and enjoying the story, and make sure to... I don't know, stay hydrated I guess**

 **\- usnoozulose**


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